OSTEOMYELITIS IMAGING

Course overview

OSTEOMYELITIS IS THE INFLAMMATION OF BONE AND MARROW, MOST TYPICALLY DUE TO AN INFECTIOUS PROCESS. OSTEOMYELITIS MAY OCCUR IN PATIENTS OF ANY AGE. OSTEOMYELITIS IS A DISEASE WITH SIGNIFICANT MORBIDITY THAT CAN BE CHALLENGING TO DIAGNOSE. IN ADDITION TO CLINICAL ASSESSMENTS AND LABORATORY STUDIES, IMAGING RESULTS PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN EVALUATING PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED OSTEOMYELITIS. PLAIN RADIOGRAPHY IS THE TYPICAL FIRST STEP IN THE RADIOLOGIC EVALUATION OF PATIENTS WITH OSTEOMYELITIS. WHILE PLAIN FILMS CAN IDENTIFY BONE CHANGES, ULTRASOUND HAS LIMITED SENSITIVITY FOR BONE INVOLVEMENT. COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY PROVIDES DETAILED CROSS-SECTIONAL IMAGES, BUT MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OFFERS SUPERIOR SOFT TISSUE RESOLUTION AND SENSITIVITY FOR EARLY BONE MARROW CHANGES. NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNIQUES AID IN DETECTING INFECTIOUS PROCESSES WITHIN THE BONE BUT LACK SPECIFICITY. OSTEOMYELITIS NEEDS TO BE DIAGNOSED ACCURATELY AND EARLY TO IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE STRATEGIC USE, ROLE, AND LIMITATIONS OF PLAIN RADIOGRAPHY, COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY, MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE IN DIAGNOSING ACUTE, SUBACUTE, AND CHRONIC OSTEOMYELITIS.